the "news nation" is following overwhelming anxiety from both campaigns over a windfall of new polling that could alter the narrative about who is up and down in this race for the white house. many new polls show the president widely panned debate performance may have closed the gap in key swing states in romney's favor. adding to the fodder, the headline of the article, "did obama just throw the entire election away?" sullivan writes, quote, i'm trying to see a silver lynning but whether a president sem-immoates on live tv and a record number of people watch, it's hard to see how they recover. questions about the future of the obama candidacy coming as new reports emerge on an all-out rebellion inside the romney campaign led by ann romney and their son, tagg. politico says the romney family staged an intervention and

pushed the recent shift to the center. politico writing the family rebellion long little, despite mitt romney's initial reluctance to change reached a climax in september. joining me now to make sense of all the new polls out there, mark murray. so mark, at 1:05 eastern time we got a new gallup tracking out. before we get into that, it seems one poll today that dominated the conversation is the pugh poll, but within the last hour there was a new reuters poll that came as well. >> we reached a very volatile part of the presidential contest right now coming right after that debate performances. we see polls all over the place. the prepondance of the surveys show a definite tightening of the race at the very least. it's interesting to get his first bounce of this general presidential election. he didn't get a bounce once he

beat rick santorum for the republican nomination. he didn't get a bounce after he picked paul ryan or after the convention, but he is after this debate. so we are seeing a lot of movement right now, but i think the best gauge of where this race will be is when we move on a week or two from now where we see where all the dust settled after a volatile period in the numbers. >> i thought you were going to say when our new nbc news poll comes out that's what we know. with that said the pugh poll says if the election were held today, that's 49/45 amongst likely voters. amongst registered voters barack obama 46%, mitt romney 46%. the gallup daily tracking likely voters, obama 47, romney 49. if you can keep up up at this point, 49/46. the state polls caught your eye as well, michigan in particular. you look at those numbers.

>> right. in the michigan poll it was a survey that had president obama holding onto a narrow three-point lead down from a 10--point lead earlier last month. that poll was kind of what we saw. i was talking to a republican looking at all the polling numbers and races who said, when the races were outside the margin of error, they're now in the margin of error, when president obama was up maybe 1, 2, 3 points they're tied or president obama up one. so the central thing is this race has tightened. mitt romney has seen all the polling numbers move in the direction. i don't think we know that in complete verdict where this race is. a lot of democrats are bracing for a close race a few months ago and they're bracing for one now. >> mark murray, thank you very much. you'll join us as at the half hour mark. let's bring in the "news nation" political panel.

with us from afar is steve deyse a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. we allowed you to come with a regular camera and not skype. so you have some edge up here. let's start off with michael. one of the polls is pennsylvania as well. the president is up, but i believe now about three points. that is your home state. mark murray and they like to look at state-by-state battleground polls over the national polls so many get caught up in day to day. what's your read, mike condechm? >> it's not the swing state it's cracked up to be. i will believe that it's a true swing state, tamron, when i turn on my own television at home and be inundated with commercials. right now that's just not the case, and money does talk in this circumstance. if all of a sudden both candidates commit to it or if

the romney campaign forces obama top defend his turf in pennsylvania, i'll start to feel that way. right now, i don't see it. >> let me play sound, keith, from mark halpern. he was just on with andrea mitchell. here's the intel that he was able to acquire. we're talking with team obama in chicago. let's play it. >> they feel just as good about where they are today as they did two weeks ago. they said clearly public polling shows change, they don't see any fundamental change in the race whatsoever. >> is that wishful thinking or accurate read? obviously, andrew sullivan is an obama supporter but he's a conservative. he's trying to look for a silver lining, and he feels that it's been disastrous. that's one person's opinion. what's yours? >> i was at the jets game last name -- >> boo. you should only go to cowboys games. what's wrong with snu. >> people booed mark sanchez in the first quarter of the game. >> wonder why?

>> this is a team that has a losing season. the contrast is with barack obama he's on a winning team. they've run a perfect reply flawless campaign. he had one bad debate performance, and now everybody is ready to throw up their hands in fear. people have to settle down and focus on the fundamentals like michael was talking about a moment ago of the six states in the country that have 20 or more electoral votes, barack obama is leading in four of nem. the only state he's not leading at that that's a swing state is florida, and that's tied. the fundamentals of the race still favor obama, and people have to keep that in mind. >> let me bring you in on this. i'm not giving up the if the lies and propaganda of the last four years work after obama fought back solidly against them. then reality-based government is over in the can you understand again and we're back to bush cheney but more extreme. it's one debate, but it was one debate with 70 million more

people, more eyes on that debate than any speech that we could carry on all of cable neuews combined, then any radio program or twitter account could get. >> it is one debate that was heavily tuned in. perhaps the second presidential debate maybe double. nevertheless it's not just one debate. >> it's one debate that is very visible but a different mitt romney shows up. obama just let that happen. mitt romney showed up and he seemed like an energetic guy to fix things. obama showed up and looked tired and listless and he didn't challenge mitt romney on his extreme positions or on the extreme positions of the republican party including his running mate. >> i always lover yo your insig. we're past the debate but still at that same conversation even with democrats still talking about the debate mystery that happened. >> it was a vacuum. there's nothing else to talk

about until the next debate. >> we can talk about the fact women have been deserting -- we have two polls shows women are deserting the president. he had an 18-point lead in the pugh poll. >> it's tied at 47%. i don't want to just isolate you because you're the woman here. >> happy it to talk about it. >> you guys know women, but nevertheless we'll single them out. which is where the debate comes in, and mitt romney being allowed to define himself as a moderate, obama didn't bring up reproductive right or fair pay or lily ledbetter or the supreme court. when people hear that mitt romney was like todd akin, mitt romney would take away your birth control like rick santorum. they didn't stee that guy. you have white women deserting the president for obama temporarily. we have one poll shows he's ahead with women, tied with women, and that was an 18 point loss, and we have another poll

that says the gap narrowed to six pointses. >> if this number is accurate it is because mitt romney is presenting himself as more of a moderate, which is completely on the opposite side of the planet that you want him on as a conservative. this political article says many romney officials wonder whether the change can be sustained. in essence, romney is trying to undergo a political mem for physician so shed an image and to appear loose and willing to compromise. i bet you just fainted as a conserve it active. you think that's part of the problem, steve. >> i think this whole thing that he moved to the middle is laughable. i mean, i'm talking to conservatives around the country. some of the issues that the person who spoke ahead of me brought up did not come up in the debate, it's bahama baharac job to bring it up. mitt romney did a fine job defending free enterprise and

free market economics and small government and limited spending. that's where he got the big boost, and the biggest boost of all. the republican base is more united right now since the scott walker re-election, and it's because of romney's debate performance. i don't talk to conservatives at all that believe the mainstream media that romney won this debate by moving to the middle. we must be living on two totally different planets, because i don't hear that from conservatives at all. >> i believe keith believes you live on two different planets. michael, do you think it baloney? you have politico reporting several insiders felt that ann romney and tagg wanted mitt to be more personal and wanted him to perhaps soften the edges. despite what people like steve would want to hear as conservatives? let michael answer this. >> in the last 48 hours they've made efforts, the romney campaign has to humanize him. i reflect on the gop convention

and the lost opportunity they had i thought the mormon testimonials were the most compelling aspect of the entire rnc. yet, it was lost because in primetime you didn't see it, only geeks like me tuned in and saw it. instead you saw clint eastwood and the empty chair. they recognize the errors of those ways and try to present him as more the massachusetts moderate to govern that state. >> in a more personality, i want to play what happened in the last hour. take a listen to this, steve. this is mitt romney discussing how one of the former navy s.e.a.l.s who lost his life in benghazi, that he met him a couple of years ago. the dougherty family is confirming this. >> one was a guy from my home state of massachusetts and relatively young guy compared it to me. he was a former navy s.e.a.l. he was living in san diego, and i learned about him. he talked about his life.

he skied a lot and skied in some of the places i had. we had a lot of things in common. he told me that he keeps going back to the middle east. he cares very deep uply aboly a people there. he served in the military there. went back from time to time to offer securities services to people there. you can imagine how i felt when i found out he was one of the two former navy s.e.a.l.s killed in benghazi on september 11th, and it -- it touched me, obviously, as i recognized this young man that i thought was so impressive had lost his life in the service of his fellow men and women. >> now, as we understand, it's the first time governor romney has told this story, but it fits exactly, keith, into this article in politico that ann romney got involved and the quote was, let mitt be mitt. we keep hearing this over and over. let ryan be ryan. nevertheless that story, while confirmed, perhaps is the

handiwork of ann romney and tag romney pushes the chief strategist out of the way and pushing away conservatives. they said this course correction came despite a loud course of second-guessing among prominent conservatives. >> it seems to me what mitt romney did in that statement and is he repo lit sized an event. i don't think that will help him to talk about the issue that way. i think it's good he's trying to make this move to the center in terms of winning the vote. >> but steve keeps saying hogwash to that. >> steve didn't hear everything he said. >> that's absolutely hogwash. >> let me put this out there, steve. what i think the conservatives and republicans are happy about is not that mitt romney embraced conservatism in the debate. they're happy he beat obama and got in his face and challenged him. obama didn't respond. they don't care who that person is. they hate and despise obama so much they have mitt romney who

they don't like themselves to go after him and to say things that don't completely agreement with the agenda. steve, i'm surprised you would go along with that when he's clearly not continuing the message about pre-existing conditions or taxes or regulations. he's flip-flopping again, and he opens himself up to the charge that he's a guy that has no core again. this is a charge that the obama campaign started in the beginning. >> i want to get michael in on this as well. i don't want to tag team you here, but you heard steve screaming from mount high that's hogwash. >> you heard it at least the way i believe it. the base of the gop has been waiting for a groin shot to the president. i hate to say it that way, and this is as close as they've come. the aggressiveness of mitt romney in that debate is what they buy into, not so much the you substance. >> steve. >> maybe somebody who is a member of the gop base can answer these questions. the reality is -- just saying.

>> you are also part of the club you don't like mitt romney fan club. who are you? >> i don't. that's what's so unique about this. what's funny about this is conservatives around the country couldn't stand stewart stevens and they couldn't stand eric in the romney campaign. conservatives around the country were begging want romney campaign to do exactly what politico says ann romney said he suggested to do. act like a human being and stop being the republican reincarnation of john kerry. act like you had to be president and show the leadership when you he be made bain capital into a global success story. do that as president of united states. conservatives want what ann romney is suggesting. we should not mistake a change in temperament or a change in persona to be a change in principles. i will say this. one thing i can tell you about mn mitt romney and that's why we

keep on the right we keep the gun loaded is we know this about mitt romney. a change in principle is always possible. i will agree with that. >> that's why jon huntsman called him a perfectly lubricated weather vane. ultimately the conservatives will not like that if he gets elected. >> expose that. obama had a chance to expose that on a national stage and he didn't take advantage of that. >> not only did he not make distinctions on reproductive rights, he said there isn't a big difference on me and my opponent on social security. that was an unforced error. >> we have to end this before steve he's head blows off. i'm afraid he's at a fever pitch here. michael, thank you. you've been so patient. thank you erin and keith. coming up, a tense moment in a local interview with congressman paul ryan. >> those are yours, not mine. >> thank you very much, sir. >> yeah.

>> all right. >> that was kind of strange. you trying to stuff words in people's mouths? >> i don't know if that's strange. >> so ryan's camp says it was a reporter asking a weird or strange question. so what happens if congressman ryan is asked a question he doesn't like in the debate? plus how democrats are gaffe-proofing vice president joe biden. we'll follow developing news. jerry sandusky sentenced to at least 30 years behind bars. what "celebrity apprenticsandus. first it was pbs and now nickelodeon. why the kids' tv network says mitt romney is dising children. it's one of the things we thought you should know, and you can join our conversation if you don't explode like steve on twitter. find us at @tamronhall and at @newsnation. this is my song of the day.

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if joe biden has a big gaffe, turns in a bad performance for some reason, which he shouldn't, this narrative just grows. >> it could be the other scenario, right? >> yes, it could be what happened in '04. the incumbent vice president outperformed. >> so, of course, that's joe scarborough and richard wolf talking about the one and only vice presidential debate just two days away if you're counting. right now vice president biden is home in delaware preparing -- holding mock debates with sparring partner chris van holland and reviewing video of paul ryan's speeches and

interviews. he's reading "young guns." paul ryan is in florida for more debate prep reviewing the tape of biden's 2008 debate with sarah palin. as for the debate thursday, 9:00 p.m. eastern time is at the center college in danville, kentucky. "news nation" is live from there. the topics are domestic and foreign policy. the 90-minute debate is divided into nine 10-minute segments. chuck todd said it could help vice president joe biden. joining me now is ed rendell, who is now an nbc political analyst and "newsweek" and "the daily beast" special correspondent michael tamaski. you know joe biden very, very well. you have articles out there saying that the democrats want to make sure he's gaffe-proof. aside from that sidebar, we know that joe biden is formidable. >> joe is a great speaker, and

in a debate format he is very disciplined. he'll be prepped. i don't think you'll see any gaffes, but you'll see a solid performance. he's strong and aggressive and most of the all he has what president obama lacked. when i ran for re-election, and i did it three times, i was proud of what wheadon and i was enthusiastic about what we accomplished. joe will have that enthusiasm. he'll convey to the american person what this administration has done pulling us out of the brink of financial collapse, advancing the ball on health care and doing so many good things. a foreign policy record to be proud of. i think joe will sing that song loud and clear. >> i couldn't help but think about what you describe as your expectations of vice president biden. the title of your book, basically no wuss, he can't give the slightly bit he's taking it easy on the young gun. i told my team it's like the young maverick versus the og,

which i'll explain later what that means. you've got joe biden here. he's seen it and done it all. he has survived both personality tragedies and seen the ups and downs of the beltway when people used to perhaps have lunch with each other and talk over things to where we are now, it where it's a decisive tone that can be scary, governor rendell, to people voting. >> i think joe biden will do one other thing the president didn't do. if paul ryan strays from the facts and shows a disregard from the facts which he has in the past, we know that. you see joe biden move in quickly and affirmative and correct those statements. >> let me play this exchange between congressman ryan and a local reporter. let's play it, and i want to get your thoughts of how his temperament could factor into the debate. >> the best thing to help prevent violent crime is to bring opportunities into inner cities. that's what charities and

churching do. >> you can do all that by a big tax cut. >> those are your words not mine. >> thank you very much, sir. >> yeah. >> that was kind of strange. you trying to stuff words in people's mouths? >> i don't know if that's strange. >> it sounds like you're trying to answer the question. >> basically the campaign says that the reporter took too much time and asked a weird question. i also want on to play this exchange with chris wallace when he pressed the congressman on his budget plan on his sunday morning program on fox. let me play that. >> lowering tax rates by broadening the tax base works. >> you haven't given me the math. >> i don't have the -- it would take me too long to go through all of the math. >> i don't want to read into personality, but you can see a common theme when pressed or made uncomfortable. might we see that in two days? >> look, you know, ryan has actually been a liability to the ticket so far. he hasn't comported himself very well in this campaign at all

yet. the polls immediately after he was named showed he wasn't a popular choice. his convention speech was pretty rah, rah to the people the in the hall the night it was given. the next day the fact checkers started in on it sliced it to ribbons. he's been a drag on this ticket, but i wouldn't underestimate him as a deet baiter. most people consider him the favorite into the debate. there's no question as governor rendell said that he is going to play with the truth. let's put it that way. he's going to stretch the truth, and biden will challenge him very directly on the ryan budget. i think biden should also with reference to women and this collapse of obama's lead among women, biden should challenge him on his very extreme position on abortion and ryan will try to waltz through that stuff. biden has to hold him to it and do it very, very factually. >> the congressman says to this notion of refuting his budget numbers or quote-unquote lies,

he says basically they just call us liars to descend into the mud pit. he says this is a strategy to demoralize and they will win by default, michael. this is the counter it to all of the folks on the right or liberals who say shoot down the lies. >> it's a clever, preemptive thing for him to do, because whether you're going to lie, it's pretty smart to say they're going to call me a liar. when they call you a liar, you can say, see, i was right? it's a smart, preemptive move on his part. biden has to show very calmly and with authority that what ryan is saying about his budget isn't so. and we know that ryan is going to do this, because ryan can't possibly go on television and tell the american people the truth about the cuts his budget would make to domestic programs and the way his tax plans would favor the rich because doing so would be incredibly popular. >> governor rendell, the part of

this debate is foreign policy, and we know the chops that the vice president brings in that conversation. it's interesting the romney campaign chose to start this week with that big foreign policy speech. congressman ryan uttered the same words that the obama administration has been weak and libya and syria have been mishandled. here's congressman ryan fakes off on one of the deans of foreign policy for this administration. >> i think a tremendous disadvantage for congressman ryan, as it will be for governor romney when he faces off against the president on foreign affairs. i think joe biden will make sure they don't stray from the truth. in yesterday's speech somewhat unbelievably to me after all the contention about misstatements, governor romney made two significant misstatements again shows a disregard for the facts. one he said, tamron, there was no discussion of terrorism in the 2008 debates.

we saw last night on msnbc they played the tape. >> there's tape to prove he wasn't accurate. >> 40 mentions of terrorism in that debate, and he said president obama hasn't signed a single free-trade agreement, when, in fact, he signed three. joe biden won't let him get away with it. going back to domestic policy for a section, congressman ryan said we don't have enough time to make the math add up. i think what the vice president will do is what the president should have done to governor romney and say, okay, let's cut through all of this. name one deduction you would do away with. the american people ought to know all of the deductions you'd do away with, but name one or two. it's not too hard and won't take too long. what do you think congressman ryan does in response to that? >> i can't wait to see. i sure hope it will come up. thank you very much governor rendell and michael tamaski. just within the past few

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people may have been injected with the tainted drug. still ahead, all eyes on ohio. two weeks ago t"the new york times" reported romney's camp was openly discussing how to win without ohio. today it's a new game. mark murray is back with a first read. plus -- >> these are tough times with real serious issues, so you have to scratch your head when the president spends the last week talking about saving big bird. >> so new comments from governor romney that happened a short time ago as president obama's campaign releasing a pretty funny ad featuring big bird. does the ad keep the president's campaign from moving forward by reminding you of the debate or does it remind you of cuts that governor romney wants to make? it is our "news nation" gut check. check out our "news nation" tumblr page. this is jen yamas, our little louisiana princess song of the day. [ female announcer ] most whitening strips

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[ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8. woooo! we're back. pawn ryan is practicing in florida with ted olson. 30 years operate the vice president and congressman. quite the generational gap that the romney campaign hopes to overcome by having ryan practice with 72-year-old olson. we're beginning to ron mott, and he's traveling with congressman ryan in florida. what kind of scoop did you get to the strategy? >> reporter: good day to you. paul ryan came down here to st. petersburg, but he's holed up in a hotel getting ready for the biggest 90-minute stretch of his political life on thursday night against vice president biden. both sides have played the lower expectations game. the romney/ryan team has said for weeks joe biden is one of

the best debaters in washington, 40 years on the hill. obviously, he knows key policy issues like the judiciary and foreign relations with his time in the senate. he's been preparing paul ryan with former u.s. solicitor-general ted olson. they're going through a mock debate session and policy briefings. tomorrow he goes up to danville, kentucky. he has been ready for this and trying to remain relaxed over the past few days. took his kids out to a pumpkin patch and some reporters asked about the debate. oh, yeah, i should get ready for that. tamron. >> thank you very much, ron. for more on how the vice president is preparing, jokes and all for thus's debate, we go to the news campaign. what kind of scoop have you got for us other than maybe a joke pretending you forget the debate in two days. >> the vice president is in wilmington, delaware at his home. he's taking six full days off the campaign trail here to get

ready. he's working with chris van holland, democrat on the house budget committee that worked extensively with ryan on issues like the deficit, medicare and social security. van holland understands ryan's policies but how he presents those. other senior staff is david axelrod as well as biden's former chief of staff and one time senator ted kaufmann. we're hearing about the book "the young guns" written by ryan and his colleagues outlining his deficit and debt policies. biden has been on the trail talking about it this book and these policies. these are attacks he's been honing over the last couple weeks and months. really what you see is biden addressing things like social security and medicare. these are arguments he's making on the stump now, but his staff and van holland right now are preparing him to respond to have a back and forth with ryan on those issues.

>> carrie, thank you very much for the report there. the battle for the buckeye state. president obama is headed to ohio from san fran. he will speak at a rally later this afternoon at ohio state university. after a rally in iowa in just the past hour, mitt romney headed to ohio as well and will spend four of the next five days there. he's trying to capitalize on the new dynamic of the presidential race following last weengk's debalt. it was like yesterday we were talking about whether governor romney was going to pull up his stakes in ohio and try to focus on a different route to the white house. now it appears that will all out the window. >> what they actually have done, tamron, is they're actually moving key staffers into ohio from pennsylvania. you are right. the wind right now seems to be at mitt romney's back, and it will be interesting to see where all the polls show the ohio race to be at a moment at which

president obama is having the toughest headwinds that he's experienced the past three months and mitt romney finally has the wind at his back. it's interesting for us to see where ohio is in all of this because ohio, as you all know very well, a republican is not won the presidency without ohio. if mitt romney is unable to win it, it limits his chances to get to the 270 votes. >> do we have any more insight into the polls closing in ohio specifically? we keep saying the debate and performances. was there something substantive that perhaps we're seeing hit a note with particularly people in the midwest regarding this shift, if it is a solid shift? >> what we did notice in the pugh poll was there was a shift for mitt romney in the midwest. he made gains there, and that is pretty significant. as far as what ended up happening, i can't give you a good answer for that. i think the media's portrayal of the debate, everyone declaring

that president obama chs the loser, mitt romney the winner does have an impact, particularly on the thursday and friday after the debate. certainly the biggest thing, tamron, more than the polls is psychological. you just were talking about the romney campaign. were they going to pull out of ohio? now we're not talking about that anymore. were they go to have some type of purging in the campaign? that's out of window. right now looks like a very close race. >> mark murray, can't wait until you get the results of your big poll you're working on. thank you, mark. >> to the bitter end even after a judge sentenced jerry sandusky to what would likely be the rest of his life in prison, sandusky maintains his innocence saying he tried to bring joy and make people laugh. there's a lot going on today. brand-new poll out of massachusetts shows senator scott brown now leading his democratic challenger 48 to 45. it's not all bad news for

elizabeth warren. when casting votes, 62% say they think about which political party control controls the senate, a number that could help warren in the largely democratic state. nickelodeon says governor romney is, quote, dissing children for not taking part in the event. linda eller besaid they said he couldn't fit in the schedule. they say the dog ate your homework excuse won't work when running for president in the united states. john mccain and the president took part in the special. those are things we thought you should know. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th,

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years, maximum of 60 on 45 counts of child molestation. when handing down that sentence, the judge said, quote, the tragedy of this crime is that it is a story of betrayal. the crime is not only what you did to their bodies but what you did to their psyches and souls. joining me now is mark brennan who covers penn state. on his website fightonstate.com, he was in the courtroom today. mark, it's good to see you. obviously this story is never easy to discuss, but does this in some ways -- i hate the notion of closure, because it's not like you wake up and something suddenly goes away. does this help at all now that jerry sandusky will likely spend of rest of his life in jail? >> yeah. you talk about a 30 to 60-year sentence. it might as well be 300 years. if penn state fans have one concern, they think only 30 years? most people realize it's for the rest of his life. the real odd thing today, every time this guy opens his mouth,

whether it was costas last november or the radio thing yesterday or whether it was today, he just looks more and more guilty. we could see why he wasn't on the stand at his trial. >> you know, we heard people talk about perhaps a smirk on his face inside the courtroom before the sentencing he had this statement saying that the only person that he'd had, you know, sexual relations with was his wife during their marriage and she's still by his side. what is the large opinion at this point now that he's been convicted, no that he's been sentenced, when you talk to the kids and the benefactors, the people who still donate to the university? what is the larger feeling there? >> you mentioned that sense of closure, and we know that we still have the tim occcurl dey schwartz trials and mcqueary is suing the university. none of this is done.

where this adds closure is with jerry sandusky who was the monster to everybody in this whole thing. i mean, as many mistakes as other people made along the way to whatever extent, i think everybody is happy to see justice was done and this guy is in jail for the rest of his life. >> victim four who was abused in the late '90s gave the statement, i do not forgive you. i do not know that i'll ever forgive. my only regret is that i did not come forward sooner. that was one of the victims there. real quick, the assistant coach who saw the boy being sexually abused in that shower, he is trying to get some kind of protection under the whistleblower law. what's the latest there? >> yeah. he's suing penn state for $4 million because he thinks he was wrongfully terminated and didn't get the benefits he deserved and that he was treated improperly by the university. he reported up the chain, and we're talking about mike mcqueary, the former assistant coach, he reported to his svr,

who was joe paterno who reported to their svrs. the argument from a lot of people, it's a very polarizing debate is at what point do you stop worrying about reporting to your supervisor and go straight to the police? >> mark brennan, thank you very much for reporting on the latest on what happened in that courtroom today. thank you. up next, a "news nation" gut check. >> it's me, big bird. >> big, yoel ellow, a menace to economy. >> this ad may be funny. is it making you think about romney's proposed cuts, or does it remind you of the president's debate performance? you can give us your gut on that, and you can join the "news nation" on facebook. we're at facebook.com/newsnation. we have a special internal clarice, and this is what she picked out for you today.

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time for the "news nation" gut economic. big bird is getting a lot of attention ever since governor romney pledged to defunld pbs at last week's debate. the children's icon went from sesame street to an appearance on "saturday night live" and he's featured in a brand-new ad in the obama campaign set to air nationally aon cable tv. >> bernie madoff, ken lay, d criminals and the evil genius that towered over him. one man has the guts to speak his name. >> big bird. >> big, yellow, a menace to our economy. mitt romney knows it's not wall

street to worry about, it's sesame street. >> team romney says the ad is an example. obama campaign being small-minded. sesame street is asking that the re-election team take down the ad. that's new information. writing on its website, quote, sesame workshop is a nonpartisan nonprofit corporation. we don't endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. we have aapproved no ads. what does your gut tell you as funny as it might be, does it remind you of the bedate performance or bring up the issue of romney budget cuts. go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast your vote. i was trying to think of a joke with the count guy. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. "the cycle" is up next. male an] you know that guy who sells those remote control helicopters at the mall. buy 'em or don't. whatever man. either way, he gets to fly helicopters all day. and he eats the liquid gold of velveeta shells & cheese.

achieve your dreams. eat like that guy you know. achieve your dreams. very sore looking kinda blistery. it was like a red rash... like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i was a firefighter for 24 years. but, i have never encountered such a burning sensation until i had the shingles. i remember it well. i was in the back yard doing yard work. i had this irritation going on in my lower neck. i changed shirts because i thought there was something in the collar of the shirt irritating my neck. and i couldn't figure out what was going on. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. i always thought shingles was associated with people... a lot older than myself. i can tell you from experience, it is bad. it's something you never want to encounter.

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